Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1887-12-29
BACK TO THE OLD PLACE.
The Old Man Who Heard Song in the Night
and Thought of Mother.

The Old Man Who Heard Song in the Night
and Thought of Mother.
In the quiet waiting room of the Grand
Trunk depot, in Lewiston, sat a gray
whiskered old fellow In Il bro,.d -brimmsd
hat. He had been studying timetable
with some perplexity, and had just laid
it aside. A question from him, relative
to the starting of the trains for Oxford
county, was introduction enough. His
voice was hoarse, but not unpleasant. His
infection was odd. Being "down easter"
1t was safe for the writer to guess that
the stranger was from the west.
From the west!"
"You bet" was the reply.
'Going to Oxford county,"
That's where I'm going"
Conversation was 6esultorY until the
westerner opened up.
Said he: Its th1rty-two year SINGS /
see the hills of Maine. I was raised up
in old Oxford county. I reckon amt
thought O. these hills since were boy
in copper-toed boots, with good old
daddy-too good. God bless him, for
nary such youngster as I we're. left
home when were 16 and went out west.
coasted eight years, and in '55 went on
a deep sea voyage and brought up in Cal
ifornia. I've been there ever since. Have
come back now."
"Alone?"
"Alone? Yea, alone That's the bother
Of it, my boy. Nary darned soul there
nor here as / knows of that cares whether
l get here or not-a lonesome old man.
Don't you do it. Take my word for it,
it's awful. For thirty-five year nothing
to think of but work and dig and dive.
No wife. Never had none. No friends,
except boys in the diggings when I first
went there, and in town where I've been
runnin' little business of my own for
the past eight years. Nothing ahead of
me for the past twenty year but getting
rich. No letters from anybody as l knows
of. Nothing In my dreams but money.
Nothing elsesin the visions of the noun
tain peaks, nothing else in the changin'
surface of the Pacific whenever I've
caught sight of it. I've been sordid
mean, low-lived skin-fint part of the
time, and a roisterin', hell-of-a-poor fell
low the rest of it. Lookin' back, it makes
a lump in my throat, boy, it do, honest
and L agree that wasted life is the aw-
fullest thing beneath the canopy of blue
Tt makes me sick. I don't like to think
of it. / like to talk, We see, to keep from
thinking of it."
"Goin' back TO the old placer"
'The old place! Eli! Yes, the old
place. Leastwise that's what reckon on
What do you suppose made me? Hadn't
thought O. home for fOrty-five years
Hadn't been to church any so speak of
1t were only just song as did it. A lit
tie old-fashioned song that heard in the
evening three months ago, bout mother
who wanted to know where her wanderin
boy was. 1t came up o. the night way of
there beyond the mountains and
thought of my old mother, God bless her
and of the old place. I couldn't sleep
for cent that night. I turned and
twisted and sweat great drops. / kept
thinkin' about home and about all I'd
ever read or heard about it. Seems as
though I could see the old lady's faoe
looking into niue, with eyes full of love
as good as she did when [ was kid.
thought it over for day or two. Life
didn't look half so rosy out there. Fact
is, wanted to go home, just home, no
where else, and you bet I started when
made up my mind. [ think I only kind
O. want to see tho grave of my mother
and fix up the family lot, you know, and
do you know, my boy, have been sort o
holdin' on to have good cry, (somethin
I amt known for thirty year,, and when
Pm done with that, and when I've SHE'D
around and seen all want to of the ole
place, I'm goin' to Boston to see broth.
or of mire and go back again beyond The
Rockies and die there with my face to-
ward the east. / could afford to do it
and / amt the sort to be ashamed of it
Let me tell you one thing, though, all OF
life and all its gold amt worth the loss
of your mothers love. Put that down te
keep. For if you was me you would be
able TO prove it, aud you wouldn't rur
any risk of being lured away from it by
any of the other things of earth. 1t ii
the best thing the Lord gives US, and the
last thing, Pm thinking, he ought to take
away"